I N  I)  US  T  ll  T  R  A  I  N  I  N  G. 

REPORT 

OF 

Mr.  a  BAMBEEGEK, 

Principal 

OF  THE 

NEW  YOEK  WORKINGMAN’S  SCHOOL, 


IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 
FOR  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  OF  THE  GERMAN- AMERICAN 
TEACHERS’  ASSOCIATION,  AT  CLEVELAND,  O. 

AUGUST,  1884. 


# 


NEW  YORK. 

Bkuno  Buos.,  Steam  Printers,  113  Nassau  Stre'-ct, 

18S5. 


V 


(LO^.  I 


IN DUSTRI A  L  TR  AIN  ING. 


REPORT  OF  MR.  G.  BAMBERGER,  PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  NEW  YORK 

workingmna’s  school,  in  the  name  of  the  committee  for  industrial 

TRAINING  OF  THE  GERMAN- AMERICAN  TEACHERS’  ASSOCIATION, 

AT  CLEVELAND,  O.,  AUGUST,  1884. 


In  presenting  to  you  my  report  upon  the  subject  of  In¬ 
dustrial  Training  I  am  liappy  to  announce  tliat  tlie  achieve¬ 
ments  of  the  past  year  show  a  decided  progress  in  this  held 
of  our  labors.  This  is  the  more  gratifying,  from  the  fact  that 
our  present  advanced  position  has  not  been  gained  without 
hrst  having  to  overcome  a  strong  and  determined  opposi¬ 
tion.  It  is  true,  that  of  late  years  this  opposition  has  not 
been  so  openly  avowed  as  formerly,  but  it  has  existed  none 
the  less.  He  who  has  stood  upon  some  rocky  sea-coast,  has 
seen  the  mighty  waves  dashing  in  their  wild  rage  against  the 
impregnable  cliff.  After  every  such  assault,  there  would 
ensue  a  moment  of  apparent  calm,  when  the  great  billow, 
broken  and  foaming,  returned  into  the  endless  sea,  only  to 
hurl  itself  with  renewed  violence  against  the  immovable 
shore. 

8uch  a  period  of  treacherous  calm  we  have  been  passing 
through  in  our  recent  experience.  We  have  taken  our  stand 
upon  the  principle  of  the  harmonious  development  of  the  whole 
human  being  as  upon  a  firm  and  steadfast  rock.  We  have  seen 
the  waves  of  a  powerful  opposition  again  and  again  dashing 
themselves  against  our  stronghold.  We  have  watched  each 
intervening  lull,  that  only  gave  warning  of  a  fresh  attack. 
And  we  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  utmost  that 

f344ri9 


4 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


all  tills  opposition  lias  been  able  to  effect,  has  been  the  clear- 
ing  of  onr  rock  from  rubbish  which  we  would  gladly  spare. 
Its  foundations  stand  as  firmly  as  ever, — their  stability  is 
assured. 

Strangely  enough,  the  principle  of  complete  harmonious 
development,  as  applied  to  education,  has  met  with  oppo¬ 
sition  from  some  whose  brightest  ideals  would  seem  to  be  in¬ 
volved  in  its  success.  I  need  not  remind  you  how’  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  industrial  training,  as  a  part  of  general  training,  has 
been  treated  by  most  of  the  delegates  of  a  Teachers’  Associa¬ 
tion  in  Germany.  But  in  spite  of  all  hostility,  whether  from 
without  or  from  within,  the  subject  of  industrial  training  has 
already  attracted  the  favorable  attention  of  thousands  of  en¬ 
lightened  and  sincere  educators.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  a  fair  way  of 
being  generally  recognized  as  an  essential  part  of  school- work, 
wherever  the  cardinal  principle  on  which  it  rests  is  regarded 
as  the  guiding  star  in  educational  matters.  This  state  of 
affairs  has,  to  a  great  measure,  been  brought  about  through  the 
successful  experiments  made  in  the  workshops  already  esta¬ 
blished  in  connection  with  the  ordinary  schoolwork. 

During  the  last  year  it  seemed  as  if  an  armistice  had  been 
contracted  between  those  who  favor  and  those  who  oppose 
manual  training  in  our  schools.  The  party  which  entertain 
doubts  in  regard  to  the  beneficial  working  of  this  new  feature 
in  school  life  has  been  looking  out  for  substantial  proofs,, 
while  its  enthusiastic  advocates  have  been  busily  at  work,  in 
many  places,  to  procure  indisputable  evidence  of  its  value 
through  various  experiments,  and  especially  through  the  final 
introduction  of  manual  work  into  the  respective  schools.  In 
this  way  we  can  explain  to  ourselv^es  the  apparent  quiet  on  the 
battle  field  after  so  mucli  fighting. 

But  this  stillness  does  not  indicate  entire  cessation  of  the 
struggle.  It  is  true,  the  foremost  men  in  educational  matters 
are  in  sympathy  with  our  new  idea,  but  we  have  yet  to  over¬ 
come  the  spirit  of  conservatism  in  the  teacher,  the  prejudices 
and  indifference  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  the  scrupulousness, 
narrow-mindedness  and  egotism  of  boards  of  education,  who 
in  any  innovation  that  does  not  originate  with  themselves 
always  scent  danger  to  their  authority.  You  see  the  war  is 
not  yet  over. 

Our  last  year’s  endeavors  were  directed  principally  towards 
the  systematic  arrangement  of  the  material,  which  in  many 
places  had  been  heaped  up  too  eagerly,  accompanied  by  a 
want  of  understanding  and  foresight.  Friends  of  our  new 
departure,  outside  as  well  as  inside  the  school,  expected  too 
much  of  it,  tried  to  make  moi-e  out  of  it  tliaji  was  warranted 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


5 


hy  circumstances;  the}^  did  too  mncli,  introduced  into  the 
school  all  kinds  of  handicraft,  but  there  was  at  the  same 
time  visible  a  want  of  system,  of  rational  connection  between 
these  different  manual  occupations;  what  was  wanting  most 
of  all,  was  the  connecting  link  between  manual  work  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  brain-woik  on  the  other.  No  wonder,  there¬ 
fore,  that  the  expected  results  were  not  realized ;  but  it  was 
apparent  that  the  mental  work  in  the  different  classes  of 
tlie  school  showed  deficiencies,  and  that  the  achievements 
in  the  workshop  were  of  too  purely  mechanical  a  nature. 

Such  an  unsatisfactory  state  of  things,  however,  stimulated 
to  renewed  experiments,  and  now  we  see  them  conducted  with 
more  precaution  and  in  a  more  rational  spirit,  by  making 
a  better  choice  of  subjects  for  manual  labor  and  by  elimin¬ 
ating  all  subjects  not  thus  far  satisfactory. 

The  results  during  the  present  year — particularly  in  Europe — 
have,  in  consequence,  been  much  more  valuable,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  reports  obtained  from  there.  The  more  care¬ 
ful  precautions  and  more  rational  proceeding  have  attracted 
an  increased  number  of  unprejudiced  observers,  disposing 
them  in  tavor  of  the  new  departure  in  school  life. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  also  in  Prussia,  Hessen,  and 
Baden,  the  respective  governments  are  already  in  possession 
of  proposals  in  regard  to  the  introduction  of  our  school-reform, 
and  these  proposals  have  at  least  received  the  promise  of  con¬ 
sideration.  The  government  of  Saxony  have  even  appointed 
a  commission  to  report  on  the  feasibility  of  the  refoim  in 
question.  Let  us  hope  that  the  movement  so  auspiciously  in¬ 
augurated  will  meet  with  the  success  it  so  richly  deserves.* 

Even  in  this  country,  the  question  as  to  the  manual  training 
of  youth  is  being  pushed  to  the  front.  But  Avhat  we  have 
achieved  in  tliis  field  is  not  commensurate  with  the  enthu¬ 
siasm  with  which  the  new  idea  has  been  received.  The  fact 
is,  we  ar*e  not  yet  prepared  to  give  it  a  practical  test—  we  have 
at  present  no  teachers  specially  trained  for  instruction  in 
manual  labor,  and  not  until  this  want  no  longer  exists  can  we 
expect  any  real  progress  in  this  direction.  This  is  a  hint  for 
our  teachers  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  new  methods 
and  to  make  tlieinselves  fit  for  the  task;  they  surely  will  find 
it  to  their  advantage.  In  the  meantime  those  leaders  in  the 
field  of  education  who  have  befriended  the  new  idea,  and  have 
an  understanding  of  its  whole  scope  must  continue  their  pro¬ 
paganda  in  its  Ixdialf.  You  know,  as  well  as  I  do,  the  names 

*  Indeed,  it  seems  oiir  liopes  are  not  futile.  Ju.st  now  tlie  news 
readies  me  tliat  manual  training?  lias  I>een  made  olilij^atory  at  the  Koyal 
Normal  Sehools  iu  Dresden  an<l  (leva. 


6 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


of  those  gentlemen  in  this  conntry  who  have  interested  them¬ 
selves  in  the  subject  of  manual  training,  although  it  is  very 
likely  that  your  attention  has  not  been  drawn  to  an  article 
written  by  Professor  Farnam,  of  Yale  College,  New  Haven, 
on  the  subject.  Allow  me  to  cite  the  following  from  this  able 
production.  — 

“  An  old  tradition  of  the  Hohenzollern  famil}^  requires  that, 
every  son  shall  learn  some  handicraft.  The  j^resent  Crown 
Prince  is  a  joiner ;  one  of  his  sons,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  is  a 
bookbinder;  and  thus  every  member  of  that  house  who  ascends 
the  throne  of  Prussia  possesses,  in  addition  to  his  military 
and  literary  education,  a  purely  manual  education  in  some 
mechanical  art. 

“  If  skill  in  joinery  is  thought  essential  to  the  education  of 
a  sovereign,  whose  bank  account  is  kept  good  by  the  income  of 
estates  and  taxation,  and  the  greater  part  of  whose  life  is 
devoted  to  military,  governmental,  and  ceremonial  affairs,  it 
would  seem  not  extravagant  to  assume  that  a  sovereign  who 
earns  his  daily  bread  in  the  dull  routine  of  industrial  toil 
should  be  equipped  with  at  least  the  rudiments  of  manual 
training.  Yet  it  is  only  within  a  very  few  years  that  the 
question  of  supplying  such  an  education  to  the  fift}^  millions 
of  sovereigns  who  rule  this  countrv  has  even  been  mooted ;  its 
practical  realization,  save  on  an  experimental  scale,  is  still  in 
the  future . ” 

“  That  some  kind  of  manual  training  is  desirable,  simply  as 
a  part  of  the  general  education  of  a  child,  and  not  as  a  prepar¬ 
ation  for  any  particular  career,  is  generally  held  by  the  most 
advanced  thinkers  of  the  day,  and  has  long  been  conceded  by 
the  practice  of  those  who  are  able  to  afford  it.  Are  not  child¬ 
ren  whose  parents  have  the  requisite  means  constantly  encour¬ 
aged  to  engage  in  games  and  sports  and  the  exercise  of  small 
handicrafts,  which  train  the  hand  and  the  eye,  perhaps  with¬ 
out  consciousness  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  children?  As 
they  grow  older,  does  not  every  Christmas  bring  its  quota  of 
carpenteis’  benches,  printing  presses,  scroll  saws,  toy  shij^s  and 
engines,  etc.,  to  develop  the  mechanical  faculties  of  the  boys, 
while  the  girls  are  gradually  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
sewing,  embroidery,  etc.  ? 

“If  such  excercises,  pursued  as  a  pastime,  are  thought  use¬ 
ful  and  good,  how  much  more  valuable  must  they  be  when 
pursued  with  method.  The  whole  tendency  of  modern  educa¬ 
tion,  since  the  davs  of  Froebel,  is  to  introduce  more  and  more 
the  training  of  the  hand  and  the  eye  as  a  supplement  to — nay, 
as  the  very  groundwork  of  the  training  of  the  mind.  It  is 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


7 


claimed,  and  the  claim  seems  reasonable,  that  such  an  educa¬ 
tion  not  only  cultivates  the  skill  of  the  member  so  trained^ 
but  that  it  aids  materially  in  the  acquisition  of  other  knowl¬ 
edge ;  that  it  develops  observation;  that  it  assists  especially 
the  pupils  who  have  little  capacity  for  book-learning,  but  who 
frequently  have  decided  mechanical  aptitudes,  by  developing 
their  latent  faculties  and  giving  them  more  self-reliance  and 
courage  ;  and  the  knowledge  gained  of  materials  and  processes 
is  exceedingly  useful  to  any  one,  whatever  his  future  ])ursuit 
may  be.’' . 

Professor  Farnam  alludes  to  the  position  taken  by  W.  T. 
Harris,  in  regard  to  the  introduction  of  manual  industry  into 
the  school,  and  cannot  understand  what  induces  this  eminent 
scholar  and  educator  to  place  himself  in  opposition  to  it.  You 
all  know  of  W.  T.  Harris,  for  many  years  superintendent  of 
schools  in  St.  Louis,  and  always  considered  the  most  reliable 
authority  in  school  matters  in  this  country.  Of  course,  I  as 
well  as  vou,  regret  most  sincerely  his  being  ojiposed  to  us 
upon  this  important  issue.  Professor  Farnam,  citing  in  his 
article  what  Mr.  Harris  has  to  say  against  the  matter,  makes  it 
his  special  task  to  refute  him  and  does  this  successfully. 

But  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  tell  you  that  the  position  taken 
by  W.  T.  Flarris  is  a  rather  isolated  one.  There  are  a  great 
number  of  men  of  science  and  others  of  standing,  interested  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  education  of  the  people,  who 
have,  during  the  last  year,  taken  the  opportunity  to  visit  and 
inspect  our  Workingman’s  School  in  New  York,  all  of  whom 
have  expressed  to  me,  in  a  most  enthusiastic  manner,  their  entire 
satisfaction  with  what  thev  have  seen  there. 

C/ 

Dr.  Jose  Castro  Fernandez,  son  of  the  President  of  Costa 
Pica,  spent  two  weeks  with  us,  studying  every  feature  of  our 
school,  providing  himself  with  all  available  programmes  and 
copying  our  school,  as  it  were,  in  order  to  reorganize  the 
schools  in  his  country  after  the  model  thus  obtained.  In  the 
cooperation  of  manual  work  and  brain  work,  he  saw  at  once  a 
powerful  agent  for  civilizing  his  countrymen,  scarcely  yet 
touclied  by  any  culture,  and  for  counterbalancing  the  prevail¬ 
ing  tendency  to  bigotry  and  superstition.  In  the  name  of  his 
government,  he  made  an  agreement  with  us  to  send,  at  first, 
fifteen  or  twenty  boys  from  his  country,  at  the  age  of  about 
twelve  years,  as  pupils  to  our  school,  in  order  to  be  educated 
there  as  teachers  for  the  schools  at  their  own  home. 

We  have  also  been  visited  by  many  gentlemen  and  ladies  from 
different  parts  of  the  country,  interested  in  educational  mat¬ 
ters,  and  have  uniformly  heard  from  them  expressions  of  entire 


8 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


approval.  Upon  several  occasions  deputations  have  come 
from  other  cities  for  the  purpose  of  examining  and  reporting 
upon  the  methods  employed  in  our  school.  Not  curiosity,  but 
a  deep  interest  in  our  work,  and  a  desire  to  adopt,  as  far  a& 
possible,  its  distinctive  features,  have  attracted  these  friends, 
toward  our  institution. 

Before  reporting  to  you  the  improvement  we  have  made  in 
our  school,  since  1  last  gave  you  an  account  of  its  working,  I 
will  state,  briefly,  that  in  the  City  of  New  York  a  school  similar 
to  our  Workingman’s  School  has  been  established.  I  refer  to- 
the  Hebrew  Technical  Institute.  The  principal  of  this  school  > 

is  Mr.  Leipziger,  a  German-American.  Although  we  must 
regret  the  denominational  character  of  this  institution  we 
gladly  recognize  in  it  a  furtherance  of  our  cause. 

It  is,  of  course,  of  special  importance  to  our  object  just  now,.  ^ 

to  make  known  our  endeavors  toward  enlightening  the  public 
in  regard  to  the  real  facts  relating  to  our  movement ;  for  what 
most  impedes  the  introduction  of  the  same  is  its  not  being 
rightly  understood ;  clear  the  way  for  a  better  appreciation  of 
the  merits  of  manual  training  and  soon  we  shall  have  won  the 
da^L  There  was  a  time  when  prejudice  impeded  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  the  potato  into  Europe, — how  do  v  e  account  for  this- 
seemingly  strange  fact?  People  mistook  the  ill-tasting  berries- 
of  the  potato-plant  for  its  esculent  tuber.  A  similar  misunder¬ 
standing  counterbalances  our  efforts  regarding  the  recognition 
of  the  value  of  manual  training. 

Therefore,  what  we  have  to  do  for  the  better  understanding 
of  the  real  merits  of  manual  training,  must  at  present  be 
limited  to  putting  forward  the  principal  features  of  our  new 
departure,  to  wit:  1st.  Being  of  a  creative  nature,  manual 
training  preceeds  our  object  lessons.  2d.  Our  new  method  is- 
not  intended  to  prepare  for  a  special  branch  of  industry, 
inasmuch  as  it  underlies  every  kind  of  industry.  3d.  The 
fundamental  principle  in  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  the 
objects  for  manual  work  is  that  of  development,  and  is  in  close 
connection  with  the  intellectual  work  of  the  school ;  that  is, 
workshop  and  school-room  are  in  close  and  systematic  relation 
with  each  other, — Avhat  is  taught  in  the  school  room  is  to  be 
wrought  into  a  plastic  form  in  the  workshop,  and  what  is  here  v 

created  is  there  to  be  taught  in  principle.  4th.  Instruction 
in  drawing  is  in  close  relation  to  the  exercises  in  the  workshop. 

Each  object  of  manual  labor  is  first  to  be  sketched  and  then 
carefully  drawn.  5th.  We  must  declare  emphatically  that  our  ^ 

aim  is  not  to  predispose  a  pupil  to  a  certain  industrial  pur.suit, 
but  only  to  be  a  help  to  him  in  finding  out  that  sort  of  calling 
most  suitable  to  his  mental  and  physical  endowments.  6th. 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


9' 


We  must  lav  stress  on  the  fact,  that  we  endeavor  to  include  the 
entire  hninan  being  within  oiir  scope,  that  we  intend  to  educate 
the  whole  mass  of  the  people  and  not  those  alone  who  may  be 
better  endowed  mentally  by  nature.  7th.  We  direct  attention 
to  the  fact  that  a  well  planned  manual  training,  in  connection 
with  mental  training,  is  the  only  nat^iral  proceeding  in 
educating  children,  because  it  corresponds  with  the  progressive 
development  of  their  nature. 

In  regard  to  the  working  of  our  system  in  the  New  York 
Workingman’s  school,  I  am  in  a  position  to  report  progress  in 
these  dilFerent  directions,  during  the  five  years  of  its  existence. 

1st.  There  has  been  progress  in  selecting  the  proper  material 
for  our  workshop,  a  subject  of  great  importance.  We  proceed 
now  according  to  the  following  scheme  :  first,  we  use  clay 
adapted  to  the  tender  hand  of  the  child.  After  that,  we  use 
paper,  card-board,  and  leather.  Our  next  step  is  to  the  use  of 
wood,  beginning  with  the  softest  kind.  Our  last  resort  is  to 
the  various  metals,  of  which  lead  is  chosen  to  start  with. 
Selecting  thus  the  materials,  our  plan  is  simply  adapted  to 
the  plan  followed  by  the  instruction  in  natural  history.  2d. 
There  has  been  progress  in  the  selection  of  tools  used.  The 
various  tools  we  use  are  not  resorted  to  indiscriminately,  but 
their  use  is  wholly  dependent  on  a  preconcerted  plan.  We 
start  with  the  plain  chisel,  passing  over  to  the  knife,  the 
scissors  and  the  saw.  After  these  tools  for  filing  and  separ¬ 
ating  have  been  sufficiently  used,  we  pass  to  the  hammer,  the 
tongues  and  the  screw.  Having  accomplished  our  purpose 
through  the  use  of  these  various  tools,  we  resort  to  the  steam- 
engine.  The  different  parts  of  it  have  to  be  represented  in 
drawing  by  the  children,  who  afterwards  inddel  them  and 
finally  put  the  parts  together.  Our  most  advanced  class  has 
in  the  course  of  last  year  successfully  operated  with  steam 
poAver.  The  order  in  which  Ave  use  our  tools  corresponds  AAdth 
the  plan  according  to  AAdiich  the  science  of  physics  is  genei*ally 
taught.  3d.  There  has  been  progress  in  regard  to  the  choos¬ 
ing  of  appropriate  objects  on  A\diich  to  Avork,  starting  A\dth  the 
simplest  fundamental  forms  of  geometry,  passing  from  these 
to  the  plain,  constructing  at  last  the  solid  in  accordance  Avith 
the  principles  goA’eniing  its  formation  and  becoming  acquainted 
Avdth  its  cubical  contents.  In  conclusion,  the  entire  ground 
passed  over  is  revieAA^ed  Avdtli  reference  to  forms  AA^e  meet  in 
our  daily  life. 

To  tliis  scries  of  objects  for  manual  training  corresponds 
the  plan  generally  laid  out  for  teaching  mathematics.  We 
cannot  value  too  higlily  such  a  reciprocity  in  AA-orking.  We 


10 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


have  progressed  also  in  tlie  brancli  of  our  artistic  work,  in 
free  hand  drawing  and  modeling.  In  regard  to  this  art  I  will 
only  add,  that  at  the  end  of  the  school  year  we  w^ere  surprised 
by  observing  how  the  pupils  of  the  highest  grade  proved  them¬ 
selves  capable,  without  any  aid  whatever,  of  modeling  relief- 
maps  with  clay  from  the  maps  drawn  by  themselves. 

A  particular  featuiie  of  our  course  in  modeling  is,  that  our 
pupils  do  not  make  their  forms  by  taking  away  but  on  the  con¬ 
trary  b}^  adding  in  order  to  represent  the  desired  form.  The 
manner  in  which  they  proceed  in  adding  the  smallest  particles 
serves  us  as  a  criterion  for  judging  the  proficiency  of  their 
workmanship.  All  our  visitors  have  been  pleased  with  this 
way  of  proceeding  in  regard  to  modeling. 

By  experimenting  in  this  manner  something  will  always  be 
gained,  so  that  at  the  end  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  the 
triumph  of  our  cause,  -  our  new  departure  will  become  a  fea¬ 
ture  of  our  public  schools. 

In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  invite  vou  to  oive  vour  consider- 
ation  to  the  following  sentences  : 

As  in  the  domain  of  moral  life  we  recognize  the  fundamental 
fact  that  moral  experience  must  precede  the  deeper  and  truer 
moral  insight,  so  in  the  domain  of  the  school,  in  the  intellec¬ 
tual  training  of  the  young,  we  make  it  our  constant  aim  to  let 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  the  apprehension  of  truth,  grow 
out  of  the  experience  of  the  pupils  themselves.  That  method 
of  instruction  vliich  consists  in  cramming  the  heads  of  little 
children  with  rules,  definitions,  abstractions,  which  they  da 
not  understand  and  with  facts  which  they  cannot  assimilate, 
must  be  banished  out  of  every  school.  AYitli  unremitting  zeal 
must  w^e  stand  guard  in  future  that  such  a  destructive  method 
may  never  ])ass  the  threshold  of  our  schools.  “Deed  not  creed,” 
is  the  educational  princijile  to  which  we  must  adhere.  First  must 
come  the  actual  acquaintance  with  -things  and  processes,  and 
then  the  rule,  the  definition.  First,  the  child  must  learn  to  use 
its  senses,  to  see  for  itself,  to  hear  for  itself,  to  obtain  clear 
impressions  of  the  exterior  world,  to  express  its  nature  in 
productive  action,  before  we  can  lead  it  to  systematic  reflection 
and  to  the  formulation  of  its  thoinrhts,  and  such  truths 
as  are  the  result  of  the  child’s  own  experience,  come  to 
it  through  the  exercise  of  its  own  senses,  through  the  labor  of 
its  own  hands,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  will  remain  its  last¬ 
ing  possessions,  will  be  tinged  with  the  child’s  own  individu¬ 
ality,  will  partake  of  its  own  character  and  will,  therefore,  re¬ 
tain  an  enduring  place  in  its  life.  To  sum  up,  whatever  we 
teach  is  deduced  from  the  unchangeable  nature  of  things  them¬ 
selves  ;  nothing  is  taught  on  mere  authority,  mere  tradition. 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING. 


11 


And  now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  elucidate 
wliat  I  have  just  said  by  a  single  practical  illustration.  Let 
us  take  for  example  a  quadrilateral  prism,  like  tlie  one  you  see 
in  my  band  here.  It  is  not  difficult  for  even  a  moderately 
good  scholar  to  find  the  cubic  volume  of  such  a  prism,  but  it 
is  difficult  and  for  most  persons  absolutely  impossible  to  in¬ 
vent  the  formula  by  means  of  which  we  find  the  cubic  con¬ 
tents  of  the  quadrilateral  pyramid.  Centuries  have  elapsed 
before  this  result  was  reached  by  one  of  the  greatest  mathe- 
mathicians,  to  find  the  cubic  contents  of  a  pyramid  from  the 
prism  by  dividing  the  latter  by  3.  This  result  is  generally 
given  to  the  scholar  to  be  memorized  and  used  in  practice. 
This  the  only  means  of  solution  is  the  reliance  on  mere  memory. 
How  different  is  our  method !  Our  children  are  taught  to  dis¬ 
sect  the  prism  in  such  a  manner  as  actually  to  produce  the 
pyramid,  and  the  side-pieces  that  have  been  cut  off'  are  set 
together  so  as  to  form  2  pyramids.  Thus  our  children  solve 
the  problem  and  discover  the  truth  by  their  own  experience, 
their  own  exertion,  and,  instead  of  following  blindly  the  author¬ 
ity  of  their  formula,  deduce  the  ride  through  their  own  obser¬ 
vation.  Besides,  the  truth  can  be  constantly  reiterated  and 
strengthened  by  the  re]ietit;ion  of  the  ivork.  The  result  of  all 
we  attempt  can  therefore  be  expressed  in  the  words  of  Come- 
nius,  the  celebrated  educator  of  the  17th  Century,  “  that  men 
must  be  taught  to  draw  wisdom  as  much  as  at  all  possible 
not  from  books  but  from  heaven  and  earth,  from  oak-trees  and 
from  beeches.” 

I  conclude  my  report  witli  the  words  of  Pestalozzi . — 

“  Eiiis  muss  in’s  And’ie  greifeii, 

Eins  (lurch’s  Aml’i-e  hliili’n  mid  reifeii.’’ 


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